Wide comb dispute 1979-1985
Encyclopedia
The wide comb dispute was a landmark Australian
industrial dispute. Australian sheep shearers, represented by the Australian Workers Union, opposed the alteration of the Federal Pastoral Industry Award to allow the use of shearing equipment that used combs wider than 2.5 inches. Business and farming groups, such as the National Farmers Federation, supported the alteration of the award as they believed that the wider combs increased productivity. The dispute culminated in a 10 week national strike by shearers in 1983. The dispute was resolved by the decision of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission
to allow the use of the wide comb shears. The defeat of the AWU in the wide comb dispute has been widely cited as the cause of a decline in union membership and militancy amongst Australian shearers.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
industrial dispute. Australian sheep shearers, represented by the Australian Workers Union, opposed the alteration of the Federal Pastoral Industry Award to allow the use of shearing equipment that used combs wider than 2.5 inches. Business and farming groups, such as the National Farmers Federation, supported the alteration of the award as they believed that the wider combs increased productivity. The dispute culminated in a 10 week national strike by shearers in 1983. The dispute was resolved by the decision of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission
Australian Industrial Relations Commission
The Australian Industrial Relations Commission, or AIRC , was a tribunal with powers under the Workplace Relations Act 1996. It was the central institution of Australian labour law...
to allow the use of the wide comb shears. The defeat of the AWU in the wide comb dispute has been widely cited as the cause of a decline in union membership and militancy amongst Australian shearers.